Netflix CEO Says Amazon Losing $1 Billion/Year on Streaming Video - Peter Kafka - Media. Free Kindle This November. [Translations: Japanese] In October 2009 John Walkenbach noticed that the price of the Kindle was falling at a consistent rate, lowering almost on a schedule.
By June 2010, the rate was so unwavering that he could easily forecast the date at which the Kindle would be free: November 2011. Since then I’ve mentioned this forecast to all kinds of folks. In August, 2010 I had the chance to point it out to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. He merely smiled and said, “Oh, you noticed that!”
When I brought it to the attention of publishing veterans they would often laugh nervously. But last week Michael Arrington at TechCruch reported on a rumor which hints at a more clever plan: a free Kindle for every Prime customer of Amazon. In January Amazon offered select customers a free Kindle of sorts – they had to pay for it, but if they didn’t like it they could get a full refund and keep the device. I don’t know if this is Amazon’s plan, but it should be. UPDATE: I misread the TechCrunch dateline. Amazon launches Prime Instant Videos streaming service.
US Amazon Prime customers can now watch unlimited, commercial-free and instant streaming of over 5,000 movies and TV shows at no additional cost after Amazon put live the free service for members of its premium service.
The platform is only available to US customers at this time and adds the streaming services to its existing free two-day shipping, relaxation in minimum order sizes and reduced one day shipping costs. The Prime Instant Videos service will offer over 5000 pieces of content, ranging from movies to TV shows, indicating Amazon is going to make a major push to because major player in the movie-streaming business, alongside services like Netflix. Amazon has kept the launch quiet at the moment, suggesting the company will announce full details on its video service soon. If you aren’t already a Prime subscriber, you can sign up for a free one month trial to test out the shipping options and the new Instant Videos service. Amazon.com’s secret retail empire. Jeff Bezos has a loud laugh.
But Amazon.com’s founder and CEO is keeping quiet about his expansion efforts, which now include sites as varied as BuyVIP.com, Zappos, and as of Monday, Diapers.com. With its many acquisitions, Amazon.com is turning itself into a multibrand retailer. You’d never glean this from the company’s strategy statements in its annual reports, where it talks about “the strength of our brand” — not brands.
Amazon’s PR boilerplate gushes at length about the Kindle e-book reader but not, say, DPReview, Shopbop, Javari, IMDB, Small Parts, or Fabric.com — all of which Amazon owns. Amazon’s e-commerce empire is barely integrated. That hands-off approach may actually be an asset to Amazon’s merger and acquisitions strategy. Still run under CEO Tony Hsieh, Zappos continues to operate under its quirky culture, which emphasizes high-quality customer service instead of low prices.
Multibrand retail has a mixed reputation offline. Online, though, things are different.